Assessing evaluation capacity in an early stage equity-focused organization

Over an eight-month period, we systematically assessed the evaluation capacity of SJC, a developing agency committed to advancing culturally responsive education through resource provision and professional development. This capacity assessment was undertaken to inform the future design and implementation of a comprehensive program evaluation plan tailored to SJC’s evolving operational and programmatic needs. To carry out this capacity assessment, our team employed a mixed-methods approach that included social network analysis, qualitative interviews, a stakeholder survey, and a review of existing organizational datasets. In this paper, we describe our evaluation methods, findings, and the actions that we recommended that SJC leaders take to strengthen their organization’s capacity for learning, program evaluation, and data-informed decision-making. We reflect on key lessons learned about assessing organizational capacity for learning and evaluation in small, emergent, mission-driven agencies. One important insight was the critical importance of embracing cultural humility when navigating evaluator-stakeholder power dynamics and paradigmatic dissonance—particularly when external evaluators are invited to “diagnose” organizational capacity and prescribe improvement strategies. Prioritizing the values, experiences, and cultural context of SJC, rather than imposing a top-down, expert-driven approach, was essential to ensuring the credibility, utility, and relevance of our findings. Additionally, from a technical perspective, the use of social network analysis proved highly valuable in illuminating SJC’s internal communication patterns and how such structures may enable or constrain organizational learning, evaluation, and project management—core functions essential to advancing SJC’s mission and organizational effectiveness.